Boston Consulting Group

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) prides itself on its treatment of clients and its employee-focused culture. Unsurprisingly, BCG stands as one of the world's top-ranked consulting practices and is home to over 4,300 consultants in more than 40 countries.

Pros

Interesting cases and challenging work with client interaction from day one
Plenty of opportunities for training and feedback
Working with ‘intelligent, interesting people’
You’ll be exposed to ‘a wide range of industries’
Excellent reputation and career prospects

Cons

Unpredictability of the hours
You're required to travel to clients and stay in hotels a fair bit
Lack of a work/life balance
You have to find time to attend training and fit it around your workload

Employee Reviews

Life on the Job

Culture

"BCG is a very meritocratic environment. It is the sort of place where a fresh associate can ask a question in a meeting and have everybody's genuine input and attention, all the way to partner level. I certainly feel a deep, mutual respect between BCG’s employees as though we all come from different backgrounds, we are aware the admissions process is stringent and we trust each other's capabilities a lot over the course of a case. Colleagues support each other all the time – we are assessed as individuals rather than relative to each other, so there are no formal incentives to 'outshine' the other person. Also, the types of personalities BCG recruits tend to be team players. How well you work as a team and your awareness of the broader roles of your teammates are also key to doing well as a consultant. There are opportunities to socialise at least every week, with larger events such as company holidays, ski trips and Christmas parties happening annually. These are always well attended. The weekly events are not mandatory however, so there is no pressure on individuals if they simply want to get home early to rest. What I found most encouraging was that it is extremely easy to speak to the partners about ideas for clubs or bonding events – usually so long as you have the enthusiasm to push it through you will get the funding. One of the clubs that have started in the last year include a Gourmet Club, where a group of BCGers get to try an up and coming restaurant and review it for the office." -- Junior Consultant, London
"There is a strong culture of supporting each other; everyone is very willing to help even if they are extremely busy. Within case teams it is ideas rather than hierarchy which are important. There are plenty of BCG bonding events throughout the year as well as staff-led events." -- Junior Consultant, London
"Collaborative, fun, relaxed, team-atmosphere." -- Associate, London
"Very supportive, great social life including drinks and office lunches every week. Company paid ski trip, company paid offsite weekend to a European location, company paid surf trip. Employees often socialise together. Senior people often get involved in the social scene too which makes it very inclusive." -- Consultant, London
"A very friendly company – a large bonding budget with many organised events. An email distribution list called 'LON social' also operates, where colleagues organise impromptu events. Not very hierarchical – partners are willing to talk to you in the same way as consultants." -- Associate, London

Hours

"I never work weekends. Average daily hours are 11 (Mon – Thurs), eight on Friday. This is as good as or better than friends at other consultancies." -- Consultant, London
"Around 60 is about average. I never have to work at weekends. BCG London has a strong commitment to work-life balance and project teams will work together to ensure team members can meet important commitments. 60/80% working options are available." -- Junior Consultant, London
"On average I work about 50-60 hours a week. Weekends are never scoped into a project – any time I have had to work a weekend, someone has made a mistake: either I have not completed analyses correctly, or there is something additional we missed in the original scoping of the project. I have worked about ten times on the weekends, average about four hours each time in the two years I have been here. Because you own your bit of the question, subject to scheduled deadlines/needs of team members one is quite flexible on how they allocate their time. As you become more experienced, you learn to do things faster and are more aware of where potential bottlenecks may be, which allows you to manage this better. Work life balance is high on the agenda and we are currently piloting schemes to improve predictability. Earlier on in my career I might have given this a lower score, but on reflection, given we are in a service industry and what we are paid, I think the hours are completely acceptable. However, experiences do vary as hours differ by case as well as by the culture of a particular office. It’s the volatility more than the total hours that makes managing work life balance a challenge." -- Junior Consultant, London
"65. I worked a weekend once in the 18 months I've been here, and that was my fault because I took three nights off in the week for other commitments while on a very intense project. Part-time – very good as far as I know. Don't think you would be able to do fewer than three days per week though. Leave policies are good once you've been here long enough to prove your worth. Purchasing extra holiday? Sadly not. Would love it if you could!" -- Associate, London
"The hours are very long. This is not necessarily correlated with happiness or frustration though, when working on an interesting project or fantastic team, it can still be quite fun." -- Associate, London

Interviews & Assessments

"There were three rounds of case study interviews – about 15 minutes to discuss personal CVs and 30 minutes on a case study. I interviewed with managers in the company, and partners in the final round. I was asked to talk about what I was most passionate about on my CV, and each conversation flowed differently from then on." -- Junior Consultant, London
"Three interview rounds – first round = one interview and two tests; second round = two interviews; third round = three interviews with partners. Most were 25% CV questions and 75% case studies." -- Junior Consultant, London
"Three rounds of interview with two to three interviews in each. Interviews with consultants, principles and partners." -- Consultant, London
"I did an internship so only two rounds. Interviewed with a project leader and a partner. First round was a maths test, and two case study interviews (each with a bit of personal stuff too). Second round was case study and general chat with two different partners. No assessment day – only an online test – quite hard." -- Associate, London
"Three rounds of interviews, maths test, online case test. No assessment day." -- Associate, London

Graduate Careers at BCG

The majority of BCG’s consultants have an advanced degree from a leading business school, such as INSEAD, Rotterdam University, SDA-Boccini, LSE, ESSEC or Heidelberg. Recruits are primarily drafted between September and February, and are ordinarily plucked from applications made through the firm’s web forms. Experience abroad or foreign languages aren’t necessities, but they’d certainly help to set any hopeful applicant out from the crowd. But most importantly, ‘candidates need to be able to demonstrate that they have the breadth of skills… [required] for the job – a combination of analytical capabilities, structured thinking, creativity and drive.’

Three rounds of interviews stand between you and a position at the BCG. The first round consists of one or two interviews as well as a couple of tests; while the second comprises simply two interviews. Theses interviews will be held by managers, but make it through to the third round and you’ll face three interviews with partners. Regardless of the round, most interviews will be about ‘25% CV questions and 75% case studies’, according to one junior consultant.

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The personal discussion is intended as a ‘get to know you’, so this stage will often revolve around a specific experience or time in your life. One junior consultant states, ‘I was asked to talk about what I was most passionate about on my CV, and each conversation flowed differently from then on.’ Interviewers will often apply the ‘elevator test’; basically, could they bear to be stuck in an elevator with you. Although a little harsh sounding, applying this concept helps the firm diminish the chances of hiring someone their employees or clients won’t like working with.

Case studies are always based on real client projects and in turn provide the main insight into whether a candidate can do the job or not; the BCG website offers examples of such case studies. However, interviewers aren't looking for industry knowledge; they simply want to make sure your reasoning is sound and logical.

BCG Graduate Recruitment Info

How to apply: www.bcg.com/join_bcg/default.aspx

The Boston Consulting Group Profile & Stats

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is most notably known for two reasons: 1) its treatment of clients, and 2) its treatment of staff. A massive 90% of BCG’s customers are repeat customers, and the firm prides itself on its employee-focused culture.

The Boston Consulting Group Office, 20 Manchester Square, London

BCG was founded in 1963 by former Bible salesman Bruce D. Henderson. After dropping out from Harvard Business School three months before graduation, Henderson went on to work for Westinghouse Corporation, becoming one of the youngest vice presidents in its history. After Westinghouse, he worked in management at Arthur D. Little – one of the earliest consulting firms. From here, Henderson was headhunted by a client, the Boston Safe deposit and Trust Company, to start an autonomous consulting division at the bank, which became known as the BCG. The firm eventually became independent in 1975 and has remained privately owned by its partners ever since.

While most consultancy firms focused on making easily quantified increases in their client’s bottom line or adjustments to their operations, Bruce Henderson had a more ‘teach a man to fish approach’. His plan was for his clients to understand macroeconomics and social change, so they could better position themselves within their markets.

BCG’s consultants operate in every industry, specialising in a variety of services and functions, including strategy and portfolio development, branding, finance, globalisation, IT, intellectual property and operations. Its clients include some of the world’s largest corporations, as well as a number of Fortune 500 companies, non-profits and government organisations.

The firm is headquartered, unsurprisingly, in Boston, and has more than 69 offices in 40 countries around the world. In fact, it was one of the first consultancies to establish an office in Japan in 1966, soon after opening outposts in London and Paris.

Current CEO Hans-Paul Burkner is only the fifth person to lead the firm. He issued a ‘people-team mandate’ a year after his inauguration, which instructed managers to launch a range of internal initiatives aimed at improving alumni relations, work/life balance, career development and women’s issues. In fact, the first female consultant, Sandy Moose, spent her 40-year career at BCG, and remains chair of BCG’s global Women’s Initiative.